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Tuatara: Volume 2, Issue 2, July 1949

A Key to the Stictaceae of New Zealand

page 97

A Key to the Stictaceae of New Zealand

The family is well represented in New Zealand, with a great range of forms, and the species limits are often obscure. No settled agreement has been reached by specialists and the present tentative key tries to steer a middle course between lumping and splitting. It has not been adequately tested in the field and criticisms from users would be welcome. Some of the rarer species are not keyed. A key to the groups recognised in the family was given on page 25 of “Tuatara,” Vol. 1, No. 3, and for the most part there is no difficulty in placing a specimen in its correct group.

The ecology of our species has been but little studied, partly owing to the lack of a satisfactory taxonomic treatment. The species are mainly forest members, epiphytic on trees and shrubs, and so far as is known showing little selective preference as to hosts. One of the most handsome and most common species is Sticta coronata, often attaining a foot or more across (fig. 34). The green upper surface, often with purplish patches, contrasts, especially in the wet condition, with the golden yellow undersurface. S. flotowiana (fig. 49) is also abundant, pale slaty grey when dry, with narrow deeply foveolate lobes. Similar is S. impressa (fig. 35) but with a blue-green algal constituent. The two stalked species S. filix (fig 32) and S. latifrons (fig. 48 represents a narrow-lobed form) are also frequent. S. psilophylla (fig. 51) is one of the commonest of the species bearing isidia, and S. aurata (fig. 50) with richly coloured surface is very striking with its copious golden soralia. It is often found on manuka.

In tussock-grassland the most commonly met with species is S. flavicans (with rather delicate thallus, yellowish when dry) but it is not confined to this habitat. On rocks S. crocata and S. mougeotiana (fig. 42) with dark coloured thalli and usually copious development of yellow soredia are often abundant.

Miss Adams has again kindly supplied drawings of a number of species. Reference to figures preceding fig. 42 are to those in “Tuatara,” Vol. 1, No. 3, where a glossary of technical terms may also be found.

1 Thallus lacking both cyphellae and pseudocyphellae (Lobaria) 2
Thallus bearing either cyphellae or pseudocyphellae (Sticta) 3
2 Gonidia blue-green, thallus dark when wet L. verrucosa
Gonidia green, thallus bright green when wet (fig. 36) L. adscripta
3 Gonidia blue-green, thallus dark when wet 4
Gonidia green, thallus bright green when wet 15
4 Thallus under-surface bearing pseudocyphellae (Fig. 6) 5
Thallus under-surface bearing cyphellae (fig. 5) 13
5 Pseudocyphellae yellow 6
Pseudocyphellae white 8
page 98
Legends to Figures 42 Sticta mougeotiana 43 S. argyracea 44 S. fuliginosa 45 S. weigelii 46 S. cinereoglauca 47 S. subcaperata

Legends to Figures
42 Sticta mougeotiana
43 S. argyracea
44 S. fuliginosa
45 S. weigelii
46 S. cinereoglauca
47 S. subcaperata

page 99
6 Thallus lacking isidia or soredia S. carpoloma
Thallus with yellow soredia (fig. 15, 16) 7
7 Thallus dark, lobes broad, spores bilocular S. crocata
Thallus paler, lobes narrower, spores quadrilocular (fig. 42) S. mougeotiana
8 Thallus lacking soredia 9
Thallus bearing soredia 12
9 Thallus deeply foveolate (fig. 35) 10
Thallus more or less smooth, not distinctly foveolate 11
10 Thallus laciniate at margins, without isidia S. foveolata
Thallus broadly lobed, bearing isidia S. hookeri
11 Lobes narrow, medulla unchanged on application of KOH followed by Calcium hypochlorite S. fragillima
Lobes broader, medulla reddening on application of above reagents S. cinnamomea
12 Thallus naked below (fig. 43) S. argyracea
Thallus tomentose below S. intricata
13 Thallus with narrow laciniate lobes (fig. 45) S. weigelii
Thallus with broader rounded lobes 14
14 Thallus bearing soredia S. limbata
Thallus without soredia (fig. 44) S. fuliginosa
15 Under-surface bearing cyphellae 27
Under-surface bearing pseudocyphellae 27
16 Base of thallus shortly but distinctly stalked 17
Base of thallus not stalked 18
17 Texture thin, final lobes narrow (fig. 32) S. filix
Texture thick, final lobes broad (fig. 48) S. latifrons
18 Texture thin, final lobes very narrow 19
Texture thick, final lober broader 20
19 Thallus very fragile, with all segments very narrow S. lacera
Thallus less fragile, basal portion broader S. variabilis
20 Upper surface shining when dry, lobes broad S. amplificata
Upper surface dull, lobes less broad 21
21 Lower surface with few rhizines S. damaecornis
Lower surface, except at margins, with many rhizines 22
22 Upper surface showing white spots S. efflorescens
Upper surface without white spots 23
23 Cyphellae brownish 24
Cyphellae quite white 25
24 Spores about 7-septate (fig. 46) S. cinereoglauca
Spores 1-3 septate (fig. 47) S. subcaperata
25 Cyphellae large, lobes narrow and sinuose S. sinuosa
Cyphellae small, final lobes broader 26
26 Thallus lobes more or less pinnatifid S. subcoriacea
Thallus lobes not at all pinnatifid S. coriacea
page 100
Legends to Figures 48 S. latifrons 49 S. flotowiana 50 S. aurata 51 S. psilophylla 52 S. homoeophylla 53 S. granulata

Legends to Figures
48 S. latifrons
49 S. flotowiana
50 S. aurata
51 S. psilophylla
52 S. homoeophylla
53 S. granulata

page 101
27 Pseudocyphellae yellow 28
Pseudocyphellae white 33
28 Margin with bright yellow soredial masses (fig. 50 S. aurata
Margins without soredial masses 29
29 Thallus, especially marginally, with numerous isidia (fig. 17) S. flavicans
Thallus lacking isidia 30
30 Thallus very coriaceous S. durvillei
Thallus membranous to slightly coriaceous 31
31 Surface distinctly foveolate (fig. 35) S. impressa
Surface not or very slightly foveolate 32
32 Upper surface somewhat shiny, lower surface dark, tomentose, except marginally S. glaucolurida
Upper surface dull, bright green when wet, lower surface yellow over large areas (fig. 34) S. coronata
33 Upper surface bearing small pseudocyphellae S. episticta
Upper surface lacking pseudocyphellae 34
34 Thallus showing soredia 35
Thallus without soredia 36
35 Thallus not foveolate, with numerous granular soredia (fig. 53) S. granulata
Thallus foveolate, soredia scanty S. cellulifera
36 Thallus lobes bearing isidia 37
Thallus lobes without isidia 39
37 Thallus coriaceous (fig. 51) S. psilophylla
Thallus membranous or hardly coriaceous 38
38 Isidia long, narrow, strap-shaped S. polyschista
Isidia shorter, stouter S. chloroleuca
39 Thallus distinctly rather regularly foveolate (fig. 49) S. flotowiana
Thallus not or very irregularly foveolate 40
40 Thallus lobes broad, texture coriaceous S. freycinetii
Thallus lobes narrow, texture submembranous (fig. 52) S. homoeophylla